新作坊

Kaitiakitanga and ecocultural tourism - when slow food, traditional ecological knowledge and sustainability meet

摘要：

Tourism operators and food producers are realising the market demand for 'eco'gastronomy and slow food experiences that reflect local or cultural value systems. This paper presents the findings from research undertaken in Aotearoa New Zealand that investigated Maori tourism businesses which have engaged in culinary experiences. The presentation is based on a research project that questioned (a) how sustainable business is practised within indigenous nature based tourism business contexts and (b) sought to understand the practical implications of incorporating indigenous knowledge and values, in particular traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), within commercialised tourism contexts. Niche experiences on offer amongst the nature tourism operators involved in this research project included ethnobotany tours and foraging or wild food gathering, resulting in new product development that relies on traditional ecological knowledge to augment culinary or ecotourism experiences sought after by domestic and international visitor markets in New Zealand. The paper discusses the integration of TEK and issues of sustainable business development by focussing on two case study sites - Rongo and Kauri. The research findings have practical implications in terms of networks and indigenous or community consultation for planners, developers and managers when tourism providers are integrating cultural values within tourism planning frameworks.